Kevin Gabbard, left, customer relations manager for Royalty Companies, and Jon Tracy, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1083 in Crothersville, stand outside the post, where a new roof recently was installed after the VFW won a contest conducted by Royalty Roofing.
Zach Spicer | The Tribune
A new roof was installed Nov. 7 on Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1083 in Crothersville.
Courtesy of Royalty Companies
The old roof on Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1083 in Crothersville was discolored and stained and had been on the building for around 20 years.
Courtesy of Royalty Companies
A crew from Royalty Roofing in Seymour installs a new roof on Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1083 in Crothersville on Nov. 7.
Courtesy of Royalty Companies
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1083 in Crothersville received a new roof Nov. 7 after winning a contest conducted by Royalty Roofing of Seymour.
Courtesy of Royalty Companies
A crew from Royalty Roofing in Seymour tears off the old roof to make way for a new one on Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1083 in Crothersville on Nov. 7.
Courtesy of Royalty Companies
Royalty Roofing of Seymour started a Veterans Day roof giveaway in 2022 to honor and celebrate the brave veterans who have sacrificed and fought to protect Americans’ freedom.
The company wanted to provide roof corrections for a disabled veteran, and Matthew Cunningham was chosen by a randomizer out of about 20 nominees to receive a new roof on his Medora home.
Offering the contest again this year, Royalty promoted it as a free roof repair or roof replacement to a veteran in need. Nominations were accepted through Sept. 30.
In mid-October, it was announced on Facebook that Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1083 in Crothersville was chosen as the 2023 winner.
A crew from Royalty Roofing arrived at the facility at 105 W. Main St. the morning of Nov. 7 and was finished later that day.
“We bumped it up on our schedule,” said Kevin Gabbard, customer relations manager for Royalty Companies. “We were going to do it Wednesday and Thursday and then be here Friday. I was in Florida and I get a message ‘Hey, we’ve got a little hole in the schedule. We’re going to go down there and do it.’”
Post 1083 Commander Jon Tracy told Gabbard it was done that day.
“There were two crews, but there were guys on this side of the roof doing this side and guys on the other side doing the other side at the same time,” Tracy said.
He was happy with the finished product. He said the old roof was discolored and stained and had been on the building for around 20 years.
“It looks great,” Tracy said. “I just want to thank Royalty Roofing for what they’ve done and what they are doing every year for the veterans.”
Gabbard said Royalty received more than 30 entries for this year’s giveaway.
“It gained a lot of momentum,” he said. “We were just a little more diligent about getting it out and getting it on our website, getting it on Facebook. We advertised it a little better and gave folks a little more time, some stuff we learned from the first year.”
Gabbard said one of the VFW’s members nominated the post.
“We are very excited about this project being drawn as it will impact many of our veterans,” Gabbard said.
Tracy said the post serves 34 comrades. Plus, there are auxiliary members.
Tracy is thankful for the new roof because the post won’t have to incur that cost in the coming years.
“That’s one less expense we’ve got to deal with. That’s what we can donate back to charity,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll be out of debt in April. We were $50,000 in debt three years ago.”
Gabbard was happy to hear how the roof will impact the VFW.
“They have come a long way, and the community has really stepped up and supported their organization right down the line, and I think that’s terrific,” he said.
“There have been a lot of improvements in shingles. This is a 50-year shingle here,” he added. “This has got a 50-year life on it. This should be on there with absolutely no issues for 25 or 30 years.”
He looks for the roof giveaway to continue in the future.
“We’re going to do it every year,” Gabbard said. “It’s just a way for us to say thank you for the service and for folks that have fought for our freedom. That’s just it in a nutshell. It’s that simple.”